Modern supply networks utilize distribution centers to temporarily store products before distributing them to wholesalers, retailers, or directly to consumers. As a result, distribution centers receive a vast amount of products on a daily basis and many of these products arrive in packages on transport trucks. These packages are unloaded and then placed on a conveyor system, which sorts and routes the packages to different areas within the distribution center for later distribution. In many cases, these packages are unloaded using manual labor.
A common problem with many distribution centers is that employees can injure themselves while unloading the packages from truck trailers. For example, trailers are often filled with packages from the floor to ceiling and employees sometimes strain themselves when repeatedly bending over to pick up the bottommost packages, and/or reaching up to grab the topmost packages. These repeated physical strains can cause short and long-term injuries. Even the seemingly simple task of carrying packages within the trailer can be hazardous, particularly with heavier packages. Accordingly, it is desirable to provide equipment that reduces health and safety concerns associated with unloading trailers.
There have been some attempts to provide equipment that assists employees while loading and unloading packages from trailers. Many of these solutions utilize an extendable conveyor that can be positioned inside the trailer so that an employee can pick and place packages on the extendable conveyor without having to carry the package out of the trailer. The extendable conveyor then transports the package to a conveyor system within the distribution center.
One example of an extendable conveyor is described in U.S. Pat. No. 6,431,346 (Gilmore et al.). The conveyor includes an extendable conveyor section and a user interface section supported in cantilever fashion on the end of the extendable conveyor section. The user interface is vertically adjustable about a horizontal axis and horizontally adjustable about a vertical axis. According to Gilmore et al., providing a user interface section that pivots from side-to-side, and up and down, helps an operator load packages at different lateral positions and different heights within the trailer.
While the user interface section of the Gilmore et al. conveyor moves up and down, employees can still strain themselves when reaching for packages near the floor and ceiling. Furthermore, the entire conveyor, including the user interface section, has limited weight capacity because it is supported in a cantilever fashion. The packages also tend to jam when transitioning from the user interface section to the extendable section, particularly when the user interface section has been pivoted to one side. In some cases, packages might even fall off the conveyor when transitioning from the user interface section to the extendable section.
Accordingly, there is a need for an improved conveyor apparatus, which overcomes one or more of the disadvantages associated with the prior art.